SSUC Ministers’ Musings

On Sunday, September 22, 2024, the SSUC community strengthened our collective intentions to stand for justice and for the marginalized, not just in theory but in these very concrete ways. Here is a reminder of our commitment: As those who seek a path of spiritual wisdom, inclusion and justice, we chart our future with our intentions and commitments: In the face of injustice and hurt, we will not be satisfied with blaming the victim, pretending that nothing is wrong, or accepting that nothing can be done. We acknowledge the dangers of labeling any individual or group as ‘other’. We will not accept the excuses that have attempted to justify collusion, silence and complacency, inhumanity and atrocity. We refuse to accept cruelty and suffering as a path toward the good. We will seek a better way that works for change while alleviating pain. We will not be complicit with injustice, nor

Overturning Tables: Expansive Responses to a Hurting World One of our many commitments as an SSUC community is to walk a spiritual path that is open and expansive, rooted in the Jesus tradition and reaching to wisdom wherever we find it. This commitment to an expansive spirituality is necessary in this world more than ever. We can see division, isolation, intolerance, exclusion, extremism almost everywhere we look around the world AND close to home. It may not historically be worse than other times, but when we’re in the midst of these challenges, it seems like it. As we’ve lived into this commitment over the years, we’ve met more and more people that might call themselves spiritual migrants: “ex-this” or “former-that” who can no longer believe the narrow and rigid beliefs of traditional Christianity whether of the more evangelical or the mainline liberal persuasion. We’ve met folks who have seen the

Spirituality and action go hand in hand. Either one is empty without the other. Nobody shepherded the United Church in its drive toward just action like Lois Wilson. Lois was the 28th and first woman moderator of the United Church of Canada, the first Canadian to serve as a president of the World Council of Churches, and later appointed to Canada’s Senate. Lois died last Friday, September 13, 2024, having accomplished 97 years. Amidst all of these accolades, and authoring ten books, Lois Wilson’s greatest contributions, in my opinion, came in the fact that she always saw herself as an ordinary participant of her local congregation that sought to work hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder with other ordinary folks to make a difference. Lois was a justice seeker and a human rights advocate. She believed that if you wanted to say you were on a spiritual faith journey, then that had to impact

I’m a big fan of interruptions. Whether I’m working on a project, writing a reflection or doing some emailing, I’ll stand up and walk around every few minutes, whether I need to or not. In fact, I’ll say to myself, “Does that desk need organizing? Why don’t I just do that right now!” When I get a drink of water out of the fridge, I ask “Does it need clearing out of old food? Why not just engage in a total clean out right now?” Maybe I’m just an expert-level procrastinator, but I love it when someone knocks on my office door. “Yes! Something new: A new conversation, a new person to take me down a side path!” We know that taking regular breaks can serve a welcome purpose. These intentional interruptions can boost our mood, increase performance, give ourselves a chance to pause and refresh, work more efficiently. All

Brene Brown, in her book Daring Greatly, differentiates between the tasks of being a mapmaker and a traveler. To be a mapmaker is to look at the environment and sketch the lay of the land, it’s to do the research, and plot it on paper. It’s takes into account where you are and where you want to go and develop the best route to get from here to there. Mapmaking needs to look at the past (have I traveled this way before?), the present (what factors are different now, what are my assets and liabilities, what’s the current conditions), and the future (where is the best place to go, what will it look like when I get there?) It’s a lot of planning, a lot of work. To be a traveler, we just need to follow the map. Read the signs and follow directions. It’s a status quo activity. If all

It matters who you are. It may not matter HOW you learn, love, grow, heal, or practice because there is no ONE WAY. It matters THAT you do these things. So wherever you are, whatever stage you’re in, whatever phase of change you find yourself, it matters that you feel and know; it matters that you are engaged in your living. You matter. Life is a whole, yet expressed in our own unique time-bound bodies. And because who we are matters (we affirm that for each of us in this community each and every week), how we live becomes the active ingredient, the agent of movement in our adventure. Our lives are a myriad of days, experiences, relationships, loves, hurts, healings, and it all matters. So then each of these is like a little yeast that impacts who we are at heart. Every connection we make changes us. Every project we

They say that familiarity breeds contempt. I’m not sure about the contempt part – contempt as in ‘beneath consideration’ or worthless. That seems strong. But in my experience, familiarity certainly breeds a growing disregard or lack of awareness and appreciation, until perhaps I don’t notice or respect what is right in front of me.  It’s this lack of awareness that happens to us with our most familiar interactions. People we spend the most time with and things we see or experience every day pass out of our consciousness and appreciation. It’s so often we think that going away, being absent from those normal, everyday things and people that can bring us new and fresh insight, but what if we just spend a little time – at home – pondering those familiar things, those closest to us, in order to bring them back into sight? What if we don’t need to

March 14th is pi day. Pie = Deliciousness! Pi = Ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. The result: an infinite number, starting with 3.14. PIE = One way of celebrating how inclusive we are to 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Public. Intentional. Explicit. Here at SSUC for the last 4 years, we have joined with Affirm United, our national affirming organization, in committing to concerted efforts to be public, intentional, and explicit (PIE) in our affirming journey. This is more important now than ever. Increasingly, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and freedoms are under attack in Canada. There has been an exponential rise in anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate-fueled movements, hate crimes, and hate speech across Canada. Anti-trans policies and policy proposals are emerging provincially and federally. There is also an alarming wave of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ demonstrations, vandalism, and assaults on affirming clergy and communities. As a community, we have always worn our affirming commitments on our sleeve. We’re

Peace is elusive, and it’s not just because we’re acutely aware of the violent and warring places in the world; Sadly, this is always happening in different places at different times. Perhaps peace is always elusive, because we all are required to wrestle with this frustrating reality, regardless of when or where we live. Our relationship with peace seems to always be in need of reflection, work, patience and courage. It helps me to remember those who’ve walked this difficult road. This week, thinking about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In his brief 39 years (1906-1945), Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a prolific teacher, writer and preacher who deeply engaged his political and social context of Nazi Germany. At the time, Hitler wanted the Christian church to bend to the state’s will, agree with his ideology and regime, in order to uphold it and maintain compliance/reduce opposition. The Nazis convinced many churches to expel clergy

They say that as intelligent, mature human beings it’s possible to hold conflicting ideas at the same time. This is why we can argue with ourselves, weighing the merits of many sides of an issue. Though it is possible, I’d say it’s anything but easy. Remembrance Day is one of those times and concepts for me. Remembrance Day can and perhaps must be a day of contradictions. It is easy to shy away, but embrace these many diverse thoughts, I must. It’s a day, first and foremost, for remembering. On Saturday, I will think of those who have died in service to their country – an act of courage and social responsibility that from my privileged perspective,  is a selfless act beyond my full understanding. I will remember those who have, willingly or unwillingly, put their lives at risk to defend ideals like democracy, free elections, human decency and an